In perhaps the only example of when a broken computer is a good thing, a man who had his laptop stolen last year was reunited with his property after the suspected thief called up Apple’s customer support. [More]

On Cyber Monday, Brian called HP about their selection of computers, and ended up selecting and ordering a computer of his own. The salesman offered him a promotion: a free Barnes & Noble Nook e-reader with the purchase of his Ultrabook. Well, as long as it’s free… The problem came when he decided the computer wasn’t for him, and returned it. HP wouldn’t take the Nook back, and insists on charging him the $99 plus tax that it costs. [More]

The school district outside Philly that has come under fire for installing and using remote webcam software to secretly take 56,000 photos and screenshots of students and others is now in trouble with their insurance company, says the Philadelphia Inquirer. [More]

If you’re stuck to a computer all day and are getting fat because of it, you might consider making yourself a laptop shelf for your exercise bike. Apparently it’s not that difficult. Whether or not it’ll make you lose weight – that remains to be seen. [More]

If you spent about $150 to have the case of your laptop computer laser-engraved with a cool design and something went wrong, would you expect to be told to fill in the problem areas yourself with a permanent marker? That happened to Haje. He’s sympathetic to the technical issues involved, but not happy with the end result.

Hey, we’re sorry if you’re getting sick of hearing about how Circuit City’s liquidation sale isn’t a good deal, but it’s our duty to inform you that yet another local news investigation has determined that CC’s sales are crappy. In this case, they found every single item they shopped for, from DVDs to big screen TVs, cheaper on-line — and took a look at a laptop that is now being sold at a sale price that is more than before the store was taken over by liquidators. Let’s listen in:

This terrible, terrible commercial for Lenovo’s new laptop is clearly meant to go viral a la Songsmith, but someone forgot that it should be amusing and not just cringe-inducing. You got your viral on, Lenovo, but now your new slogan is “That’s What She Said.” [YouTube via Engadget]

Ever wonder why some places will engrave your electronics for free? It’s so you can’t return them. Really. That’s the reason. Returns of perfectly good, non-defective merchandise account for 95% of returns and “free engraving” is a cheap, easy way to ensure that that item won’t be coming back.

We’ve been covering One Laptop Per Child’s “Buy One Get One” deal because it’s a cheap way to get a very unique, kid-friendly laptop, and because at the end of the year a lot of people are looking for places to burn off some extra tax-deductible donations. But now that OLPC is rolling in one year of free T-Mobile access, the deal just turned into a true bargain—if you meet a couple of conditions.

The One Laptop Per Child’s “Give One Get One” 2-week sale starts today. $400 buys you a cutting edge (if oddly cheap-looking) laptop and pays for another one to be given to a poor kid elsewhere in the world. [OLPC]

If you’re planning on taking part in the One Laptop Per Child “Buy 1 Give 1″ sale next month, be warned that there have been delays in starting production. Although everything is now up and running, the foundation is predicting a shortage of laptops and said that although some U.S. and Canadian customers may see their personal laptops arrive before the end of 2007, orders would be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.